 At the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, on September 29, 1864, Harris' regiment was among a division of black troops assigned to attack the center of the Confederate defenses at New Market Heights.The defenses consisted of two lines of abatis and one line of palisades manned by Brigadier General John Gregg's Texas Brigade.The attack was met with intense Confederate fire; over fifty percent of the black troops were killed, captured, or wounded.